Lawyer who Met Zygier: He wasn't Depressed

A lawyer who met "Prisoner X" a few days before he died saw no sign of suicidal tendencies.

Contact Editor

Gil Ronen, 14/02/13 22:09

Ayalon jail, where Zygier was held.

Reuters

A lawyer for Israeli-Australian Ben Zygier, who was jailed on security grounds in 2010, told AFP on Thursday he was "shocked" upon learning of the inmate's death, days after they met.

"During the entire conversation, I did not get the feeling this was a person about to take his life," lawyer Avigdor Feldman told AFP regarding the man who came to be called Prisoner X.

"I must say I was shocked when I heard about it (his death)."

Speaking from near the southern resort city Eilat, Feldman described the person he met as focused and "emotionally stable," noting the prisoner faced a tough decision – whether to accept a plea bargain or continue a trial that could be prolonged and keep him in prison for many years.

"I found a person who was indeed worried under the circumstances, but certainly not a person emotionally devastated or depressed, as far as I could judge with my layman understanding," the lawyer said.

A Channel 2 reporter spoke with members of a rescue team that was called into Zygier's jail cell in order to try and save his life, after he allegedly committed suicide. The team was unable to prevent his death. Channel 2 said that Zygier apparently hanged himself in the toilet room, where there was no security camera.